Official 2007 Formula 1 Season Thread

[Casey's Angel27]

2007 cars

Ferrari
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0181.jpg
Drivers:
Kimi Raikonnen
Felipe Massa

Renault
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0638.jpg
Drivers:
Giancarlo Fisichella
Heikki Kovalainen
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0660.jpg

Mclaren
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0204.jpg
Drivers:
Fernando Alonso
Lewis Hamilton
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0194.jpg

Red Bull
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0752.jpg
Drivers:
Mark Webber
David Coulthard
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0716.jpg

Toyota
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0063.jpg
Drivers:
Ralf Schumacher
Jarno Trulli
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0083.jpg

Honda
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0999.jpg
Drivers:
Jensen Button
Rubens Barrichello
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0991.jpg

BMW Sauber
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0404.jpg
Drivers:
Nick Heidfeld
Robert Kubica
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0209.jpghttp://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0213.jpg

Williams
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0663.jpg
Drivers:
Nico Rosberg
Alexander Wurz
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0680.jpghttp://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0681.jpg

Spyker
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0987.jpg
Drivers:
Christijan Albers
Adrian Sutil
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-0974.jpg

Super Aguri
Drivers:
Takuma Sato
Anthony Davidson

Scuderia Toro Rosso
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-tm-1265.jpg
Drivers:
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Scott Speed
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/f1/2007/gen/f1-2007-gen-xp-0950.jpg

[Casey's Angel27]

2007 Calender

18th March - Albert Park, Australia
8th April - Sepang, Malaysia
15th April - Bahrain
13th May - Catalunya, Spain
27th May - Monte Carlo, Monaco
10th June - Montreal, Canada
17th June - Indianapolis, USA
1st July - Magny Cours, France
8th July - Silverstone, Britain
22nd July - Nurburgring, Germany
5th August - Hungaroring, Hungary
26th August - Istanbul, Turkey
9th September - Monza, Italy
16th September - Spa Francorchamps, Belgium
30th September - Fuji, Japan
7th October - Shanghai, China
21st October - Sao Paulo, Brazil

[DeeGan]

Nice job!

Appreciate the work, puty you're a Williams fan though :laugh:

[Titanium_BD1103]

Good effort Casey Angel... :)

I will once again somewhere in this thread, when the season gets further ahead, be posting my predictions of season 2007, the cars, the drivers and of course, where they will be at the end of 2007... didn't do too badly last year... :D :D

[Casey's Angel27]

Thanks guys :)

[jenny]

Thanks guys :)
:win: Go Casey..I know you love your Motor Sports :)

[Casey's Angel27]

:win: Go Casey..I know you love your Motor Sports :)
Who doesnt know i love motorsport... just have to look at my profile :D

[nflin3]

Hehe Have many people to go for this year.

I am a McLaren man

My second team is Red Bull. (go Coulthard cuz he was a McLaren boy)

I am Australian. Go Webber

I am half finnish. Go Raikkonen and Kovalainen (and Rosberg eve though races under German flag)

I love the underdog so go Super Aguri. Unless all people crash i will have someone to go for during the race. Doesnt matter though i stay up every GP until the end (even the Us Gp a few years back).

Main priority is Raikkonen :p

[Steelers]

Hehe Have many people to go for this year.

I am a McLaren man

My second team is Red Bull. (go Coulthard cuz he was a McLaren boy)

I am Australian. Go Webber

I am half finnish. Go Raikkonen and Kovalainen (and Rosberg eve though races under German flag)

I love the underdog so go Super Aguri. Unless all people crash i will have someone to go for during the race. Doesnt matter though i stay up every GP until the end (even the Us Gp a few years back).

Main priority is Raikkonen :p

It's true, he actually stayed up and watched all of the US GP with the 6 competitors in it :p I only watched a little over half lol. Oh and he is the biggest Ferrari hater ever (just like me :)), so it is funny to see him having to support a Ferrari driver :p

[nflin3]

Oh and he is the biggest Ferrari hater ever (just like me :)), so it is funny to see him having to support a Ferrari driver :p


It breaks my heart :(

[Casey's Angel27]

My teams are Renault and Williams :)

Also have a soft spot for the Mclaren team... liked the teaming of Hakkinen and Coulthard. Also was a fan of Ayrton Senna and i liked te red and white he raced with on the car.

Always will support Webber... since he's an aussie and im a aussie (makes sense)

Loved the Torro Rosso decals last year... got to see them up close when i was on the back of the truck that carried the broken Liuzzi car back to its pit after the race in Melb last year :). Hope they can do better this year... great talent in that camp...

[nflin3]

mclaren.co.uk


Fernando Alonso Team McLaren Mercedes 1m12.563 102
Kimi Raikkonen Team McLaren Mercedes 1m13.529 47
Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1m13.549 33
Franck Montangy Toyota 1m13.672 31
Sebastian Vettel BMW Sauber 1m13.684 87
Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m13.734 66
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m13.848 54
Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m13.866 33
Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing 1m14.026 40
Kazuki Nakagima WilliamsF1 1m14.520 73
James Rossiter Honda Racing 1m14.644 52
Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m15.673 35
Mark Webber Williams F1 1m16.815 31
Luca Badoer Scuderia Ferrari 1m17.135 46



They still have Raikkonen as a McLaren driver lol
Alonso had a collisin with Luca Bodoer :sick:

[Steelers]

They still have Raikkonen as a McLaren driver lol


They also have Webber as a Williams driver still. Typical dodgy McLaren time sheets :p

[Casey's Angel27]

:lol!: losers... surely they could at least get their team right...

[nflin3]

:lol!: losers... surely they could at least get their team right...


They had this problem last year where F. Massa waslisted as a Super Aguri driver lol

[Titanium_BD1103]

They had this problem last year where F. Massa waslisted as a Super Aguri driver lol

nflin.. not sure when you got that, but it seems they have fixed their problem... :laugh:

From: http://www.mclaren.co.uk/f1season/tests/Valencia_Jan30.php


Driver Constructor Time Laps

Fernando Alonso Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m12.563 102
Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 1m13.529 47
Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1m13.549 33
Franck Montangy Toyota 1m13.672 31
Sebastian Vettel BMW Sauber 1m13.684 87
Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m13.734 66
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m13.848 54
Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m13.866 33
Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing 1m14.026 40
Kazuki Nakagima WilliamsF1 1m14.520 73
James Rossiter Honda Racing 1m14.644 52
Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m15.673 35
Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m16.815 31
Luca Badoer Scuderia Ferrari 1m17.135 46

Now that looks more accurate.. :)

[nflin3]

nflin.. not sure when you got that, but it seems they have fixed their problem... :laugh:

From: http://www.mclaren.co.uk/f1season/tests/Valencia_Jan30.php



Now that looks more accurate.. :)


Yer at time of posting thats wat it had onthe site lol

[Casey's Angel27]

Japanese launch for Aguri.

The Super Aguri F1 team has finally confirmed details of its pre-season launch and, unsurprisingly, it will take place in the team's 'real' home, Japan, in the build-up to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The team, which operates out of the former Arrows base in Leafield, England, has confirmed that the wraps will come off its all-new SA07 chassis in Tokyo on Monday 12 March, before being shipped off to Melbourne for that weekend's opening round.

The launch is expected to attract a lot of attention, not only because it marks Aguri's first real unveiling after a rush to make the grid in 2006, but also because, like Scuderia Toro Rosso, the team has become embroiled in a row over the use of customer cars. Aguri's close ties with Honda - which helped create the F1 operation as a means of keeping Takuma Sato in F1 - have led to speculation that the SA07 will bear close resemblance to the 'works' cars, possibly going as far as actually being based on last year's RA106.

If that is the case, the week leading up to Melbourne could get the season off to a fiery start.

from www.crash.net

[Casey's Angel27]

Spyker has been released... updated the front page :)

[nflin3]

Driver Constructor Time Laps
Pedro de la Rosa Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m19.998 112
Alex Wurz WilliamsF1 1m20.035 73
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1m20.158 52
Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m20.222 112
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m20.243 85
Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m20.251 55
Jenson Button Honda Racing 1m20.363 100
Franck Montagny Toyota 1m20.412 48
Nico Rosberg WilliamsF1 1m20.523 63
Luca Badoer Ferrari 1m20.668 67
Sebastian Vettel BMW Sauber 1m20.711 52
David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m21.023 48
Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1m21.258 120
Ricardo Zonta Renault 1m21.389 69
Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m21.530 39
Christian Klien Honda Racing 1m22.079 35

[Casey's Angel27]

STR announces launch event
Thursday, 08, February, 2007, 18:18


Scuderia Toro Rosso has announced that it will launch its 2007 campaign with a media briefing at next week?s Barcelona test.

But in a typically tongue-in-cheek invitation entitled ?Rome was not built in a day?, the team studiedly refused to confirm that its new car will be on show.

The STR2 has been at the centre of the ongoing dispute over customer cars, with suggestions that it will be merely a Red Bull RB3 adapted to a Ferrari engine.

?Scuderia Toro Rosso?s 2007 car should be ready very soon, although we are not sure exactly when,? read the team press release.

?The car might or might not be ready, but Tuesday 13 February is our press day, when you will have plenty of access to [the team?s part-owner] Gerhard Berger, [team principal] Franz Tost, [technical director] Alex Hitzinger and our drivers.?

Toro Rosso has yet to confirm its 2007 driver line-up, the only F1 team still to do so.

Earlier this week Berger rehe****d his formula that current incumbents Tonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed are in ?pole position? to retain their seats, while hinting that the team is still evaluating other options.

from http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=38453

[Casey's Angel27]

Toro Rosso confirm Liuzzi but Speed not definite
Racing series F1
Date 2007-02-13
By Nikki Reynolds - www.motorsport.com

Toro Rosso, the last team to announce a driver line up for 2007, confirmed on February 13th that Vitantonio Liuzzi will continue to race with the squad this season but Scott Speed is not yet definite. At a media meeting in Barcelona Toro Rosso cited 'contractual issues' as the reason for Speed not being confirmed.

Both Liuzzi and Speed have always seemed fairly confident of keeping their seats even though the team has been linked with other drivers and the aforementioned pair never appeared as named drivers on Toro Rosso's official FIA entry list for 2007. Evidently Speed is going to have to wait a little longer to find out his F1 future.

"Everything is fine with Tonio, he's in the car and he's going to drive," Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger told Reuters. "With Scott we still have some contractual issues to sort out. We are going to see later? We analysed our drivers very well after last season and found their strengths and weaknesses quite well."

"We worked very hard together over the winter, especially with Tonio. He's going to make less mistakes in the second season, I think he's also working harder than in the first one so he's going to be better. But you're not going to see miracles because they just don't exist in Formula One."

Speed was the first of the drivers to score a point for Toro Rosso, in Melbourne last year, but subsequently lost it for overtaking under yellow flags. Liuzzi managed to hold on to his point that he picked up in the USA and it's the only one the team has achieved so far.

Speed, who was not present at the Toro Rosso media call, may not find out if he will retain his seat until the first race of the season. Berger conceded that the American was still the favourite but said resolving the issue could take time. "It could be in a matter of a few days, or it could be a matter of a few weeks," he commented. "It is going to take as long as necessary, and it could be as late as Melbourne."

Despite this undisclosed contractual wrangle, Toro Rosso doesn't appear to have its eye on anyone else. Sebastian Bourdais has tested with the team but is in Champ Car this year and Red Bull man Robert Doornbos has gone the same route. Another rumoured candidate was Tiago Monterio but the ex-Spyker MF1 pilot just announced he "will not take up any of the offers he has received from F1 teams for 2007".

[Casey's Angel27]

Updated front page with torro rosso car

[HighTitan]

Stoner second in testing

AUSTRALIAN Ducati rider Casey Stoner was second fastest behind Honda rival Marco Melandri in fresh testing overnight ahead of the new MotoGP season.

Melandri clocked 1min 42.563sec, 0.071sec faster than Stoner.

Dani Pedrosa, on a Honda, was third fastest.

World champion Nicky Hayden of the US was only 19th quickest on his Honda, with former champion Valentino Rossi, on a Yamaha, 13th, almost two seconds off the pace.

The 2007 word championship gets underway in Qatar on March 10.

The sessions overnight were affected by rain that limited track time for the riders attempting to get to grips with the new 800cc MotoGP motorcycles that have replaced the 990cc machines used from 2002-2006.

Melandri's time was a full two seconds off Rossi's 990cc lap record set in 2005.

"That was a really useful day for us, despite the weather," Rossi said.

"Obviously the times don't really show it, but I'm not worried about those because the conditions really limited what we could do with regards to going fast.

"The good thing about today is that we think we now understand why it doesn't work so well on bumpy tracks and so tomorrow (Saturday) we're going to work on changing that and getting it to work everywhere."

Agence France-Presse
Source: www.foxsports.com.au

[Casey's Angel27]

New Honda Livery updated in the first post,
Scott Speed confirmed as second Torro Rosso driver

[Des]

What!!! Is there another motor racing sport in the world that dosn't involve V8 Supercars. Great pics. Keep it up! Go the Holdens!!!!

[Steel Dragon]

Looking forward to this year. As always, go McLaren, and may Ferrari become very well acquainted with their pit crew. I'm dirty that Raikonen has gone to the evil red team, but the upside is the back of Schumacher and the arrival of Alonso at McLaren.

I must say some of the new paint jobs are interesting. Of course the evil red team will always be the evil red team, but it's good McLaren has kept the chrome paint job. Looks absolutely awesome. Renault it seems have scored a bargain at a garage sale and picked up a few buckets of old paint formerly used by Williams, while Honda seems to have forgotten the world is round, not F1 race car shaped. Toyota, BMW, Williams, Red Bull, Torro Rosso are basically the same as last year. The new team Spyker I like, reminiscent of the late Arrows team, won't be hard to spot in bad weather.

So basically it's McLaren for me followed by the Aussie and the former-McLaren Scotsman. And may Ferrari's engines blow often!

Jason

[nflin3]

I am A Raikkonen fan and really disapointed with him going to Ferrari. What am I sposed to do :nope: What is with Honda's Livery O_o

I bet mcLaren will do well just as Raikkonen leaves.

[Titanium_BD1103]

It is exactly as I predicted in the Pre-season thread... :D :D

I knew Honda was headed this way after the rumours were sort of justified through their range of bikes... they were all promoting things like conservation and stuff like that.

It's good to see Honda doing something like this... lets hope they can sustain it with a few sponsors so the message can go out for the whole year and perhaps into the future as well... :D :D

[nflin3]

I can't really see anyone beating the Ferraris. They wil be there own enemy.

[Steelers]

Mark Webber = very bad luck


I can see this being another long season for Mark unfortunately, everywhere he goes, he just gets bad cars :|

[nflin3]

Mark Webber = very bad luck


I can see this being another long season for Mark unfortunately, everywhere he goes, he just gets bad cars :|


He is not getting any younger either lol

[Steelers]

He is not getting any younger either lol

Exactly :p He has worked hard and got nowhere in F1 really, because of the teams he has been with. And at the same time, other drivers get excellent cars in their first F1 race, which just isn't fair ;)

[nflin3]

Exactly :p He has worked hard and got nowhere in F1 really, because of the teams he has been with. And at the same time, other drivers get excellent cars in their first F1 race, which just isn't fair ;)

If your good enough it is fair :) ;)

[Steel Dragon]

Damn Raikonen! Couldn't win a race for McLaren last year, steps into an evil red machine and wins first go. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Jason

[Steel Dragon]

Woo-hooooooooooooooooo!!! McLaren 1-2. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet. How good was that start from Hamilton to get past the two Ferraris, particularly after he missed the jump?

Jason

[Steelers]

McLaren are looking the goods this year. RBR have fallen to the Webber curse, whatever team Mark goes to, fails miserably. As long as Ferrari don't do well, I am happy though I guess :)

[Casey's Angel27]

Im so happy for Mclaren, Lewis and Fernando :D

Shame for Nico thogh, sitting 6th or 7th and the engine lets go on him :(
Remember 2006 anyone?

[Titanium_BD1103]

From: www.foxsports.com.au


Alonso in a McLaren one-two
From correspondents in Sepang, Malaysia
April 08, 2007

WORLD champion Fernando Alonso took over the top of the Formula One title race by claiming his first win for his new McLaren Mercedes-Benz team in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old Spaniard, starting second on the grid, took the lead at the first corner and delivered a classic and perfectly-judged drive in a scorching victory ahead of teammate Briton Lewis Hamilton.

"It is a perfect result, a dream," said Alonso.

"This is such a tough race and you never know about tyres, but we were relaxed in the end. I lost radio communications from lap 10, like Kimi (Raikkonen) in Australia, so it is a lucky thing.

"But they fixed it and to win is absolutely fantastic and it is a wonderful surprise to achieve this after such a short time with the team. Everyone has worked so hard. So much has been done by the whole team."

Alonso led his brilliant young teammate Hamilton home in a dominant one-two by McLaren Mercedes-Benz as it ended a 20-race drought without a win since the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix.

But Alonso himself said he felt almost dried out by the intense heat inside his ****pit.

"It was so tough, very tough. You take a drink about every six laps but after a while it is like drinking tea! It is so hot that it is hot water. And it is not fun to drink that anymore."

Hamilton, 22, followed up his third-placed finish on his debut in Australia last month by becoming the first 'rookie' driver to score successive podium finishes in his first two races since fellow Briton Peter Arundell in a Lotus in 1964.

"That was the toughest race of my life," said Hamilton afterwards. "It was so difficult, so hard to defend. I ran out of water – and now I feel overwhelmed!"

He said he felt almost over-awed by his fight to keep the two Ferrari drivers behind him during the early stages.

"To see two Ferraris in your mirrors behind you and to know they are slightly lighter and probably quicker than you – it is so difficult to hold them back," he said.

"Felipe (Massa) had a couple of moves to try and pass me, but, unfortunately, I was able to trick him into out-braking himself and then I was very fortunate to cut across and get in front of him again. And then he went off and I apologise for that.

"Then, Kimi was behind me for the rest of the race and I ran out of water and it was so tricky and it got hotter and hotter and I just kept pushing and concentrating on making no mistakes.

"The team did a fantastic job this weekend and I thank them for that – for preparing me and the car."

Raikkonen said: "Of course, I am happy with the points, but I am disappointed at how the race ended up – we just had to compromise on too many things. We lost too much speed. I hope we can turn the tables next weekend and fight to win again."

Alonso added: "It is very important for any driver to win his first race for a new team at a grand prix and to have wins with two different teams is something very special. It is a dream come true after my winning with Renault. I am proud for all the team."

Australian Mark Webber was 10th in his Red Bull.

Agence France-Presse



Placings

1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 1hr 32min 14.930sec
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes at 17.557sec
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 18.339
4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 33.777
5. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 36.705
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:05.638
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:10.132
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:12.015
9. Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-BMW 1:29.924
10. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:33.500
11. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1 lap
12. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1 lap
13. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri F1 Team 1 lap
14. Scott Speed (USA) Toro Rosso 1 lap
15. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1 lap
16. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri F1 Team 1 lap
17. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso 1 lap
18. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1 lap

Overall standings (after two rounds)

Drivers

1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) 18.0pts
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) 16.0
3. Lewis Hamilton (Eng) 14.0
4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) 10.0
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) 7.0
5. Felipe Massa (Bra) 7.0
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) 2.0
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger) 2.0
9. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) 1.0
10. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) 1.0

Constructors

1. McLaren-Mercedes 32.0pts
2. Ferrari 23.0
3. BMW Sauber 10.0
4. Renault 8.0
5. Toyota 3.0
6. Williams-BMW 2.0


LOL at Massa last night, what was he thinking, pure frustration got the better of him.. had he been patient, he could have gotten past Hamilton... but instead he drove his car off the track... :p

Hamilton is really impressing me, he has some real skill there and to hold off Kimi was a great feat. Fernando was typical Alonso... fast, got out early and used his teammate to get the advantage needed to run his own race... Mclaren are looking good in 2007.

As for Webber, well he's improving, and at least the car is finishing, 10th is a decent result for a car with plenty of improvement in it and lets hope as the season goes on he can use the car to get higher up the results.... :)

[West_Titan]

Yeah!!! Well Done Heikki Kovalainen. First championship point and hopefully the start of many more to come. Hold your head high Heikki atleast your not arrogant like Hamilton.

:mad: Hamilton at the Drivers interviews was so up himself. He just has a big ego and i can't wait to see it burst. How can he say he tricked Massa into making a mistake? Hamilton was lucky! Massa is a much better driver. I love Renault F1 and will forever but this season i hope Ferrari blow Mclaren away they are to arrogant. Kimi was smart and saw the light, good on him for leaving!!

[Steel Dragon]

Methinks I detect a McLaren hater. ;)

Mate, arrogance should be defined by reference to Michael Schumacher and Bernie Ecclestone (actually, all European bosses of large international sporting organisations would fall into this category). They are two of the most arrogant men I have ever seen. Lewis has a bit of work to do yet.

Jason

[Steelers]

HAHA! Comparing somethings arrogance to Ferrari and having Ferrari the least arrogant... I don't think that is even possible :p Ferrari were one of the worst things to happen in recent F1 history IMO, with all of the extra attention they got from Ecclestone!

[kiwisfly]

Hey ya
Just found this thread after signing up then being away for some time.
Sitting down now & watching the Titan vs Broncos game..43rd minute & Webster gets em out from behind the posts with a big stretch. Got to be good!
Anyway enjoy my motor racing also, have done the v8's at Pukekohe several times & am lined up to attend the F1 in Spa (I'll gloat more about that another time!).
A mate sent this below article that I thought you might enjoy...

Cheers
Mark

Toro Rosso put light spin on car row

Friday, April 6th 2007, 09:05 GMT

Scuderia Toro Rosso put their particular spin on the customer car row on Friday with a cheeky press release after the practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Italian squad, known for the peculiar style of their press releases, was protested by rivals Spyker on Thursday.

The Dutch squad are unhappy because they say Toro Rosso have not designed and manufactured their own car and are instead running a version of Red Bull Racing's RB3.

After FIA stewards rejected Spyker's protest, Toro Rosso's press office put its own peculiar spin on the customer car row with its post-practice press release.

"Scuderia Toro Rosso confirms that this press release paper was designed on the same computer as the Red Bull Racing press release paper," the press release said.

"Having flown out a ten strong legal team from Austria, the UK and Italy late last night, we can confirm that our paper complies fully with all regulations regarding media headed paper and the industry standard British Universal Length Layer Size Height Interface Template (B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.)."

[West_Titan]

I don't hate Mclaren i just can't stand Hamilton. I agree that Ferrari were the kings of Arrogance but the sands have shifted Mclarens way. Kimi and Massa will change Ferrari's image.

Either way i'll enjoy the season if Renault can keep finishing in the 8 and scoring points.

Atleast we can agree that F1 will always be the greatest motor sport in the world.

[Steel Dragon]

At least we can agree that F1 will always be the greatest motor sport in the world.

Sorry, no agreement. You're speaking to someone who grew up idolising Peter Brock. He always said touring cars were better than open wheelers, or at least he said they were more of a challenge to drive and therefore more fun. And I agree. I like the F1s, but V8s, especially at Bathurst, will always carry the day for me.

Jason

[Titanium_BD1103]

After last night, I must say Hamilton is tough, and as much of a stuck up pomp he can be off the track, on it he is a legend on wheels.... can't complain with what he did... he was superb on 4 wheels and deserved second... :)

Massa though continues to be consistent and show good form... I can't see this being anything but a Ferrari vs Mclaren battle in 07, with Alonso chiming in.

As for Webber, he must have step in front of a black cat, as he keeps having mechanicals even with a new team... shame for him as he had the RB car going strong... :(

From: www.foxsports.com.au


Bahrain Grand Prix results

1. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) 1hr 33min 27.515sec,
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) at 2.360sec,
3. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari 10.839,
4. Nick Heidfeld (GER) BMW Sauber 13.831,
5. Fernando Alonso (ESP) McLaren-Mercedes 14.426,
6. Robert Kubica (POL) BMW Sauber 45.529,
7. Jarno Trulli (ITA) Toyota 1min 21.371sec,
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) Renault 1:21.701,
9. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) Renault 1:29.411,
10. Nico Rosberg (GER) Williams-BMW 1:29.916,
11. Alexander Wurz (AUT) Williams-BMW 1 lap,
12. Ralf Schumacher (GER) Toyota 1 lap,
13. Rubens Barrichello (BRA) Honda 1 lap,
14. Christijan Albers (NED) Spyker MF1 2 laps,
15. Adrian Sutil (GER) Spyker MF1 4 laps,
16. Anthony Davidson (GBR) Super Aguri F1 Team 6 laps

Failed to finish

Jenson Button (GBR) Honda accident 1st lap,
Scott Speed (USA) Toro Rosso accident 1st lap,
Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) Toro Rosso 27th lap,
Takuma Sato (JPN) Super Aguri F1 Team engine 35th lap,
David Coulthard (GBR) Red Bull drive shaft 37th lap,
Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull accident 42th lap standings

Drivers
1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) 22pts,
2. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 22,
3. Lewis Hamilton (ENG) 22,
4. Felipe Massa (BRA) 17,
5. Nick Heidfeld (GER) 15,
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) 8,
7. Jarno Trulli (ITA) 4,
8. Robert Kubica (POL) 3,
9. Nico Rosberg (GER) 2,
10. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) 1,
11. Ralf Schumacher (GER) 1

Constructors
1. McLaren-Mercedes 44pts,
2. Ferrari 39,
3. BMW Sauber 18,
4. Renault 9,
5. Toyota 5,
6. Williams-BMW 2

[Steelers]

Holy crap!?! I didn't even know there was a GP on this weekend. Very annoyed that I missed it :|

[Steel Dragon]

Three drivers on 22 points. Shaping up to be a very exciting battle in 4 for the championship. Ferarri currently have the qualifying speed, but the races so far have shown whoever can get a good jump at the start is looking good for the race.

GO McLAREN!!!

Jason

[Casey's Angel27]

Holy crap!?! I didn't even know there was a GP on this weekend. Very annoyed that I missed it :|

Hey Steelers. next GP is on 11-13 May at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain... so you dont miss it :p

[Steelers]

Hey Steelers. next GP is on 11-13 May at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain... so you dont miss it :p

It's already in the memory banks :) Cheers!

[Titanium_BD1103]

From: www.bbc.co.uk


Spanish Grand Prix result:

1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari one hour 31 minutes 36.230 seconds
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) (McLaren-Mercedes) at 6.790sec
3. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes at 17.456
4. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 31.615
5. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 58.331
6. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 59.538
7. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:02.128
8. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda) one lap behind
9. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1 lap
10. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1 lap
11. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap
12. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1 lap
13. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 2 laps
14. Christijan Albers (Ned) Spyker-Ferrari) 2 laps
R Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 50 laps completed
R Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 48 laps
R Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 18 laps
R Scott Speed (USA) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 11 laps
R Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 10 laps
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 9 laps
R Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 8 laps
R Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Toyota 0 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, one minute 22.680 seconds, lap 14.

Drivers' world championship 2007
Name Car Nat Points
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes GB 30
2 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes Spa 28
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari Brz 27
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Fin 22
5 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber Ger 15
6 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber Pol 8
7 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault Ita 8
8 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota Ger 5
9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault GB 4
10 Jarno Trulli Toyota Ita 4
11 Heikki Kovalainen Renault Fin 3
12 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda Jpn 1
13 Ralf Schumacher Toyota Ger 1
14 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota Aut 0
15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault Aus 0
16 Rubens Barrichello Honda Brz 0
17 Jenson Button Honda GB 0
17 Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari Ita 0
18 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari Ned 0
19 Scott Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari US 0
20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari Ger 0
21 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda GB 0

Constructors' world championship 2007
Team Points
1 McLaren-Mercedes 58
2 Ferrari 49
3 BMW Sauber 23
4 Renault 11
5 Williams-Toyota 5
6 Toyota 5
7 Red Bull-Renault 4
8 Super Aguri-Honda 1
9 Honda 0
10 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0
11 Spyker-Ferrari 0

Positions after Spanish Grand Prix

[Steel Dragon]

Championship is hotting up. Top 4 drivers separated by 8 points. One DNF can make a big difference. What chance a four-way tie at seasons end?

Jason

[Steelers]

Congrats to Super Aguri for getting a point! Who would have thought that Takuma Sato would be ahead of Webber 4 rounds into the season...

[DIEHARD]

Congrats to Super Aguri for getting a point! Who would have thought that Takuma Sato would be ahead of Webber 4 rounds into the season...

Yea, this may be Webbers last season to reach his potential.

Good to see Super Aguri get a point.

Worst thing about F1 is some of the teams never last.

I miss Jaguar, Stewart Ford, Lotus...etc

[Casey's Angel27]

I just hope that Red Bull can sort out their gearbox problems... Poor Webber has has 3 DNF's in a row.

The car has speed, just needs some more reliability

[Steelers]

The car has speed, just needs some more reliability

It's Williams all over again for Mark :(

[Casey's Angel27]

Yep and it is a darn shame.

He always goes strong at Monaco too, scored his first and only podium there in 2005, and was coming in a clear 3rd last year when the williams carked it.

[Titanium_BD1103]

Well the F1 teams went to Canada this week and I only have one thing to say...

MARK WEBBER FINISHED A RACE...:woot:

Ok so he didn't get any points for it, but he did finish 9th and looked good for a large part of the race, ok besides the part where he spun off when racing against Kubica... and at least it is a start.. ;)

As for the actual race, well it was Lewis Hamilton showing them all how it's done, very impressive win there and he is looking like he might be able to win the championship in his debut season... he looked composed and took everything in his stride, including an unlucky safety car period and numerous incidents to lead and win his first race of the season.

Fernando Alonso was very shaky today... not sure what was going on but he kept going off road at crucial times, in particular at the turn 2 apex where he cut the turn about 7 times in the one race.. he wasn't there at all today. Massa was consistent but not brilliant, Raikonnen struggled at times and Heidfield provided some hope for BMW this season.. looking strong in his Sauber.

The biggest moment was a crash by Robert Kubica in which he went heavily into the wall after flying through the air... it was rather scary to watch... and I hope he is ok.

Next weekend is the North American Grand Prix and that is always one to bring up something to talk about...:eyebrow:

From: www.speedtv.com



2007 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 70 Winner 1 10
2 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 70 +4.3 secs 3 8
3 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 70 +5.3 secs 19 6
4 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 70 +6.7 secs 22 5
5 6 Kimi R?ikk?nen Ferrari 70 +13.0 secs 4 4
6 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 70 +16.6 secs 11 3
7 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 70 +21.9 secs 2 2
8 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 70 +22.8 secs 18 1
9 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 70 +22.9 secs 6 -
10 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 70 +23.9 secs 7 -
11 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 70 +24.3 secs 17 -
12 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 70 +30.4 secs 13 -
DNF 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 58 +12 Laps 10 -
DNF 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 54 +16 Laps 12 -
DNF 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 51 Black flagged 5 -
DNF 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 51 Black flagged 9 -
DNF 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 47 +23 Laps 21 -
DNF 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 36 +34 Laps 14 -
DNF 10 Robert Kubica BMW 26 Accident 8 -
DNF 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 21 +49 Laps 20 -
DNF 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 8 +62 Laps 16 -
DNF 7 Jenson Button Honda 0 +70 Laps 15 -



2007 Formula One Points Standings

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 48
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 40
3 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 33
4 Kimi R?ikk?nen Finnish Ferrari 27
5 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 26
6 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 13
7 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 12
8 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Renault 8
= Alexander Wurz Austrian Williams-Toyota 8
10 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 5
11 David Coulthard British Red Bull-Renault 4
= Takuma Sato Japanese Super Aguri-Honda 4
= Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 4
14 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 2

[Steelers]

I was half expecting Mark's engine to blow or a tyre to puncture on the last lap, because it was hard to believe that he would finish a race. He was all over the standings this morning. Dropped back a long way early, timed his pit stop beautifully to jump up to the top, and then timed his 2nd pit stop shockingly to end up right back down the bottom. He had good pace, and was pushing the car to the limit, but couldn't quite crack into the points.

And I have to mention the great drive by Takuma Sato! He had faster pace than Kimi Raikkonen for a large part of the race, and towards the end he made a superb pass on the current champion Fernando Alonso. SUPER AGURI! :)

[Steel Dragon]

Brilliant to see McLaren winning again, and being reliable. Top drive by Lewis Hamilton. Wonder how jealous the former British darling Jensen Button is getting? Superb effort by Takuma Sato. Lost out badly with his second stop, but came back and passed Raikonen and Alonso on pace. Unbelievable. Webber is just damned unlucky. Cannot buy a trick, although I'm still scratching my head as to why he didn't pit under the safety car.

Go McLaren!

Jason

[Steel Dragon]

Thankee very much, another McLaren 1-2, and the right bloke at 1. :woot:

Jason

[Steelers]

Best race of the year without doubt... not only did MW finish the race, HE FINISHED IN THE POINTS! :woot: :woot: :woot:

Sato got very harshly penalised for a simple overtake during yellow flags. Usually a drive through penalty is sufficient, but because he spun out and DNF'ed, he has to cop 10 grid positions next race, which effectively puts him at the back of the pack next race. And it was nice to see Williams back to their old ways of blowing up towards the back end of a good points opportunity. Keep it up boys!

[SuperCliffy#01]

Lewis Hamilton a prospective legend in the making.

Mark Webber, Imagine him in a Ferrari or a Mc Laren/Mercedes, great to see him finish a race and get points.

Tekumo Sato, that was a very harsh penalty.

[Steel Dragon]

Docked 10 positions on the startlien for the next race because he spun out and couldn't complete a drive-through? I wonder would they have done the same thing had it been Michael Schumacher?

Jason

[Steelers]

Docked 10 positions on the startlien for the next race because he spun out and couldn't complete a drive-through? I wonder would they have done the same thing had it been Michael Schumacher?

Jason

Of course they wouldn't have. MS wouldn't ever have been under investigation in the first place. According to the FIA, MS and Ferrari never do anything wrong...

[Titanium_BD1103]

Well, after a week off testing and a return to Europe.. there is a change in the air with Ferrari winning last nights Grand Prix of France at Magny Cours... showing some very good speed and showing up Mclaren as well.

Congrats to Kimi Raikkonen for the win, using faster in and out laps on the 2nd pitstop and avoiding traffic to beat home his teammate Felipe Massa.. with McLaren and World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton 3rd.

The race wasn't very much of spectacle, however it was good fun watching Fernando Alonso driving to the limit after having to start in 10th due to gearbox failure in qualifying. BMW Sauber also had a great weekend, with Nick Heidfield in 5th and the recently returned from injury Robert Kubica grabbing his best result in 4th.

Mark Webber did finish, however he finished in 12th and there is some work to be done for Silverstone next week.

In what is supposdly the final race at Magny Cours, with French Racing wanting to move the event somewhere closer to the main towns... the most eventful moment was when Spkyer driver Christian Albers drove off with the fuel rig still attached after a pit stop, luckily no one was injured.

But yes, it was Ferrari's day in France, and judging by the new found speed and pace, they will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the year and have made what looked like a one horse race, suddenly a bit more interesting.. :)

From: www.speedtv.com


2007 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6 Kimi R?ikk?nen Ferrari 70 Winner 3 10
2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 70 +2.4 secs 1 8
3 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 70 +32.1 secs 2 6
4 10 Robert Kubica BMW 70 +41.7 secs 4 5
5 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 70 +48.8 secs 7 4
6 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 70 +52.2 secs 5 3
7 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 70 +56.5 secs 10 2
8 7 Jenson Button Honda 70 +58.8 secs 12 1
9 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 70 +68.5 secs 9 -
10 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 69 +1 Lap 11 -
11 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 69 +1 Lap 13 -
12 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 69 +1 Lap 14 -
13 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 69 +1 Lap 16 -
14 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 69 +1 Lap 18 -
15 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 69 +1 Lap 6 -
16 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 68 +2 Laps 22 -
17 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 68 +2 Laps 21 -
DNF 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 55 +15 Laps 15 -
DNF 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 28 +42 Laps 20 -
DNF 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1 +69 Laps 19 -
DNF 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1 +69 Laps 7 -
DNF 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 0 Accident 17 -



After the French Grand Prix - Sun, 07/01/07
2007 Formula One Points Standings

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 64
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 50
3 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 47
4 Kimi R?ikk?nen Finnish Ferrari 42
5 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 30
6 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 17
7 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 16
8 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Renault 12
9 Alexander Wurz Austrian Williams-Toyota 8
10 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 7
11 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 5
12 David Coulthard British Red Bull-Renault 4
= Takuma Sato Japanese Super Aguri-Honda 4
14 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull-Renault 2
= Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 2
16 Jenson Button British Honda 1
= Sebastian Vettel German BMW 1
18 Scott Speed USA STR-Ferrari 0
= Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 0
= Anthony Davidson British Super Aguri-Honda 0
= Adrian Sutil German Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Christijan Albers Dutch Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian STR-Ferrari 0

[Titanium_BD1103]

Off to the Nurbergring went F1 for the European Grand Prix last night, and everyone thought we'd see McLaren and Ferrari having a battle royale once more... however no one could have expected 2 things... Lewis Hamilton going off in qualifying in a heavy crash, and extreme rain.

Yep, Lewis Hamilton was involved in a heavy crash in qualifying after the right front wheel of his car was not secured and he lost control and went into the tyre wall at turn 4... it had all gasping... but in the end, to everyones relief, he was alright and the car had no engine damage, so he started 10th.

But that was only the start of the interest... with the start of the race filled with Rosberg getting involved with Coulthard, Heidfield and teammate Kubica colliding and that was only on the opening lap.

What was to follow though was pure mayhem... when as predicted on the weather charts... we saw rain... and lots of it... and it caused all sorts of chaos:

- Kimi Raikonnen, who was leading the race at the time, on slicks tried to get into the pits, but due to the rain slid off the track and out of the pit lane, forcing him to go around again in almost crawl mode to get out.

- Everyone went into the pits for intermediate tyres.. however they were caught out as the rain got heavier and without any traction, and a lack of knowledge of how slow to go, they aquaplaned off the track, rather spectacularly and in some case rather scary too...

* First Jenson Button went off, followed by Lewis Hamilton who was lucky not to stall the engine and to not hit Button, then Sutil who was lucky not to completely destroy Hamilton's car after he went flying into the same turn 4 sandtrap that Button and Hamilton were in.

* Meanwhile on the otherside of the track as the safety car came out and then had to suddenly speed up... no one not really knowing why, until they saw the replay and saw Liuzzi's Toro Rosso aquaplane at high speed off turn 1 and almost take out the safety car. His team mate Scott Speed and Takuma Sato were to follow as the Formula 1 cars became Canoes and struggled to get onto the track.

* During all this, the other Spkyer car of Marcus Winklehofer, who had started in the pits and gambled on intermediates from the start of the race, had capitalised big time and his debut race and one step ahead of the rest of the pack, was first on track when the race was finally red flagged.

- The race restarted and sadly soon afterwards Winklehofer ended up out of the race... along with Raikonnen.

The rest of the race, was rather normal from all that carnage... with pit strategy and good racing the key to a successful day... and in the end.. Fernando Alonso won the race.

THE BIG NEWS THOUGH FOR ALL AUSSIES IS MARK WEBBER FINISHED ON THE PODIUM... :woot: :woot:

Yes finally Mark had some luck with retirements, good pit strategy, good qualifying in 6th and a reliable car, and all the way looked in control of a top 5 finish before getting 3rd behind Massa and Alonso, who had quite a battle and ended up exchanging some heated words post race... of which Alonso apologised to Massa for later on.

So yes, that was the European Grand Prix... very enjoyable to watch,highly exciting and a great victory for Webber, who finally got to show what he is capable of... :D :D


From: Planet F1.com


European Grand Prix Results

01 F. Alonso McLaren 2:06:26.358
02 F. Massa Ferrari + 8.155
03 M. Webber Red Bull + 1:05.674
04 A. Wurz Williams + 1:05.937
05 D. Coulthard Red Bull + 1:13.656
06 N. Heidfeld BMW + 1:20.298
07 R. Kubica BMW + 1:22.415
08 H. Kovalainen Renault + 1 laps
09 L. Hamilton McLaren + 1 laps
10 G. Fisichella Renault + 1 laps
11 R. Barrichello Honda + 1 laps
12 A. Davidson Super Aguri + 1 laps
13 J. Trulli Toyota + 1 laps

Did not finish

14 K. R?ikk?nen Ferrari + 24 laps
15 T. Sato Super Aguri + 40 laps
16 R. Schumacher Toyota + 41 laps
17 M. Winkelhock Spyker F1 + 46 laps
18 N. Rosberg Williams + 58 laps
19 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 58 laps
20 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso + 58 laps
21 A. Sutil Spyker F1 + 58 laps
22 J. Button Honda + 58 laps



Points Table after European Grand Prix

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points

1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 70
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 68
3 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 59
4 Kimi R?ikk?nen Finnish Ferrari 52
5 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 36
6 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 24
7 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 17
8 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Renault 15
9 Alexander Wurz Austrian Williams-Toyota 13
10 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull-Renault 8
= David Coulthard British Red Bull-Renault 8
12 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 7
13 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 5
14 Takuma Sato Japanese Super Aguri-Honda 4
15 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 2
16 Jenson Button British Honda 1
= Sebastian Vettel German BMW 1
18 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 0
= Scott Speed USA STR-Ferrari 0
= Anthony Davidson British Super Aguri-Honda 0
= Adrian Sutil German Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Christijan Albers Dutch Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian STR-Ferrari 0
= Markus Winkelhock German Spyker-Ferrari 0

[Titanium_BD1103]

From:http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,6623_2608362,00.html


European GP: Alonso wins as chaos rains
Sunday 22nd July 2007

Fernando Alonso emerged victorious from a European GP that veered between the farcical and brilliant as Lewis Hamilton suffered a luckless afternoon to finish out of the points.

Alonso took full advantage of a late rain shower to oust Felipe Massa and claim his third victory of the season. Yet the race will largely be remembered for the extraordinary scenes almost two hours earlier when six drivers - including Hamilton, whose World Championship lead has been cut to a paltry two points - crashed out within thirty seconds when the Nurburgring was hit by a virtual monsoon.

Incredibly, the race then re-started twenty minutes later in near perfect conditions before a late shower produced a final twist and enabled Alonso to pass Massa with the McLaren and Ferrari cars banging wheels.

Grand Prix Report

With the drivers about to set off on the parade lap an ominous warning said that rain was expected in three minutes. The sky darkened as Kimi Raikkonen led the cars round to start. When the lights went out there was already spots of rain on the cameras.

Felipe Massa got a great start from P3 and was soon ahead of Alonso and challenging Raikkonen into Turn 1. Further back everyone looked to make up places just as the rain began to fall and there were cars sliding.

The two BMWs contrived to have an accident in Turn 2, Heidfeld hitting his team-mate on his rear tyre sending both of the white-livered cars spinning and breaking his front wing. From the on-board camera it looked a pretty blatant shove. However replays showed that Kubica had tried to muscle him off the track at the exit of Turn 1 and Heidfeld reacted.

One of them tagged Lewis Hamilton who had an almighty start and was already into P4 at the first turn after an almost serene cruise up the inside. The thump damaged a the rear tyre which punctured. He was immediately swallowed up by the rest of the field as they sped away on the greasy track.

At the end of Lap 1 Raikonen had already taken to an escape road at the Schumacher-S and dived for the pitlane, followed by Massa who would have to wait behind his team-mate. Fortunately for him Raikkonen steamed into the pitlane too quickly and skidded across the road and back onto the track.

It meant the Finn would have to go round one more time before taking wet weather tyres. The beneficiary of this piece of luck was Felipe Massa, who instead of being double stacked behind Raikkonen and coming out behind a lot of cars, managed to get to the Ferrari box first.

So Massa emerged ahead of Alonso, but neither were in the lead because Spyker had taken a remarkable gamble and started Markus Winkelhock on intermediate tyres and he led the race - by a mile.

As the rain lashed down the order was chaotic and the track conditions were getting worse.

Jenson Button had overtaken his team-mate on the opening tour and was first in to get his rain tyres. He found himself up to P4 from 17th on the grid. But as the leaders went into Turn 1 on Lap 3, Button aquaplaned straight on and into the barriers.

"Most of the first sector was like a lake," said a rueful Jenson afterwards.

He was immediately joined by Lewis Hamilton (who kept his engine running and hit nothing) and then a very fast Adrian Sutil in the second Spyker. At this point with three cars in the run-off area it was time to bring out the red flag. Instead Race Director Charlie Whiting put out the Safety Car. Rosberg spun off at Turn 1 joined by a Toro Rosso to make it five cars there.

To show what a potentially dangerous decision a Safety Car was, as the Mercedes sportscar turned in at Turn 1 it was almost collected at 100mph by another out-of-control Toro Rosso.

The cars continued to lap behind the SC, but with the rain getting heavier and with huge quantities of surface water on the track, the red flag was finally shown on Lap 4 and everyone returned to the grid for a re-start.

Out in the opening chaos had gone Button, Sutil, Rosberg, Speed and Liuzzi.

The positions on Lap 4 were Winkelhock leading by 33.5 seconds from Massa, Alonso, Webber, Coulthard (who'd spun and recovered on the opening lap!) Kovalainen and Kimi Raikkonen up to 7th.

Lewis Hamilton had kept his engine going despite being stuck in the gravel and was given a handy tow out by a recovery truck. His car was deemed to be in a dangerous position (similar to Michael Schumacher's spin at the Nurburgring where he ran off the road on the outside of the Dunlop Curve and got a handy push from a marshal he beckoned over).

However Hamilton was a lap down and it would take a massive effort to get into the points.

The race re-started behind the Safety Car to establish a dry line and get excess surface water off the track. Under the 2007 rules, lapped cars can unlap themselves in this situation and after 90 seconds, Hamilton was released to overtake the entire field and get his lap back - much to the bemusement of other drivers who hadn't realised he was a lap down. He got himself into clear air and was accelerating to join the back of the pack...

However if the aquaplaning into Turn 1 had been his first big mistake of 2007, he was about to make his second. He decided to gamble and switch to dry tyres before the track was properly dry - he spun on his outlap - and the second that the field were released from behind the Safety Car they put that lap back on him.

As the Safety Car came in on Lap 7 Markus Winkelhock (equipped with extreme wets just in case of another downpour) was swamped by Massa and Alonso and the rest of the field steamed through soon after.

The positions on Lap 8 were: Massa, Alonso, Coulthard, Webber, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Wurz, Winkelhock, Barrichello and Fisichella.

For the first time, the race began to fall into a pattern.

With the rest of the field on intermediates and Hamilton at the back on dry weather tyres all the teams looked to see how soon Lewis's times improved on a drying track.

Hamilton carved the lap time down from 1:44.057 (Lap11) to 1:41.501 (Lap 12) and 1:38.594 (Lap 13).

At the end of Lap 12 the tipping point came and most of the field flooded into the pitlane for dry tyres, while Coulthard continued for a lap in the lead.

Positions moved round yet again and on Lap 14 the order was: Massa, Alonso, Raikkonen, Webber, Wurz, Kovalainen, Coulthard, Kubica, Ralf Schumacher and Heidfeld.

As the track thoroughly dried out the Fastest Lap was shared out between Massa, Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton, who was 28 seconds behind Jarno Trulli in 16th place.

Massa edged out a gap to Alonso, while Raikkonen closed up on the McLaren driver and began to look threatening.

On Lap 19, Nick Heidfeld tried to capitalise on a small mistake by Ralf Schumacher going into the Schumacher-S and got one wheel inside him going into the final Turn. Ralf failed to notice him in his mirrors despite the error and turned in on the BMW as it made a vain attempt to get alongside.

An angry Ralf was punted off into the gravel and Heidfeld continued, though it was a poor attempt at an overtaking move, and two laps later the stewards announced they were reviewing it at the end of the race.

By Lap 23 Massa had established a 4.0 second lead and Raikkonen was just 0.6 seconds back with Mark Webber 15 seconds down in P4 and Kovalianen on his gearbox in P5.

Hamilton was still putting in fastest laps, a 1:33.643 on Lap 23 and a 1:33.607 on Lap 24 yet was still nowhere near Jarno Trulli the man in front of him. By lap 29 he was still 10 seconds behind.

Incredibly the BMWs were back up to 8th and 9th with Kubica leading Heidfeld, and with Heidfeld having had four pit-stops compared to Kubica's two.

At the front, Massa really had the bit between his teeth and by Lap 32 had a 7.4 second gap to Alonso. He was putting in fastest laps and looked to have a decisive edge over Alonso. On the other hand Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, had dropped to 2.1 seconds behind Alonso despite them having no traffic to pass.

Three laps later it became clear why, cameras switched to a touring Kimi Raikkonen who had an engine which was intermittently cutting out. Kimi crawled back to the pits on Lap 35, the Ferrari finally coming to rest at the side of the pitlane.

The positions were now: Massa, Alonso, Webber, Wurz, Coulthard, Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Barrichello and Davidson in P10.

Hamilton was still at the back, though on Lap 33 he'd finally got to overtake Giancarlo Fisichella for 13th place with a fantastically brave move into the Schumacher-S where he'd come off at speed in Qualifying. He then pitted and gave the position back.

With almost all drivers taking on fuel in the switch between intermediates and dry tyres, there was just one stop left. Alonso came in on Lap 37 and Massa followed him in a lap later.

The positions on Lap 42 were:

Massa, 6.8 seconds in front of Alonso, who was 7.1 in front of Webber (not stopped for final time), Coulthard (not stopped), Wurz, Kovalainen. Kubica, Heidfeld, Fisichella and Hamilton in P10. Lewis was 31 seconds away from a World Championship point with only 18 laps to do it.

In the final stint Alonso began to close the gap to Massa very slightly and on Lap 48 the gap was down to just 4.7 seconds, though he was gaining a few tenths a lap and not the amounts he needed to force a win.

Then we got a prediction on screen that we would be having rain in seven minutes (there had been a false alarm after the first downpour, but this time the rain came).

Taking a massive gamble, Renault had called Kovalainen in for intermediate tyres on Lap 49 before it started to fall. As his race engineer admitted on team radio "This is one hell of a gamble..."

On Lap 52 the rain duly arrived but Kovalainen had already lost too much time to gain any advantage of switching early. The majority of teams came in on Lap 53 with Massa and Alonso running very close together.

As the cars were released back into the pitlane, the McLaren of Alonso came perilously close to the Renault of the lapped Fisichella and also the Honda mechanics in the next-door garage, as it attempted to keep close to Massa.

Felipe regained the track first, but it became immediately clear that the McLaren had far more grip in the slow corners than the Ferrari. Massa drove some defensive lines in order to keep him behind, but Alonso couldn't get far enough inside of him to make a pass and Massa (quite legitimately) was leaving no gaps.

Hamilton stayed out in the vain hope that it might get dry very quickly, but was forced to come in at the end of Lap 54 to take on intermediates again. Another gamble that didn't pay off.

Alonso was supremely confident in the mixed conditions and was forcing Massa into driving lines that would keep the McLaren behind him; third placed Mark Webber was fifty seconds back and himself under pressure from Alex Wurz.

On Lap 56 he blocked Alonso into Turn 1 and washed out wide to prevent him coming up the inside into Turn 2, Alonso tried the outside round Turn 3 but didn't quite have the grip. Swooping into the downhill section between Sachs Kurve and the Ford Kurve Alonso launched himself up the inside and Massa tried to turn in on him.

The two cars touched wheels, but the McLaren was in front and both managed to continue. It would be the source of great irritation afterwards as Alonso felt the Brazilian could have had both of them off and before the podium ceremony the drivers exchanged angry words.

The positions were now:

Alonso, Massa, Webber, Wurz, Coulthard, Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Fisichella, Hamilton.

Alonso immediately drove away from Massa and in two laps established a five second gap. Wurz closed on Webber and though Hamilton had seemed down and out, was finishing at speed. He was lapping three seconds a lap quicker than the Renaults and managed to grab 9th on the final lap off Fisichella, but couldn't quite get past Heiki Kovalainen before the line.

Mark Webber was heading for Red Bull's second podium but lost control going into the Schumacher-S on the final lap of the race, under extreme pressure from Alex Wurz. He just about managed to get it back together again and scrambled through the final corner with Wurz on his gearbox to receive an ecstatic welcome from his mechanics on the pitwall.

Alonso had won a race that looked in the bag for Massa, and if not for Felipe, then for Raikkonen. Instead of a likely Ferrari 1-2 it had become a McLaren win. What was even better for the Spaniard was Hamilton's no points finish in 9th.

Michael Schumacher disappeared off the Ferrari pitwall with three laps to go to change into his rodeo shirt. It all became clear why when he re-appeared on the podium to hand the constructor's trophy to Ron Dennis. He seemed reluctant to let it go - and given the Ferrari race dominance you could see why.

It had been an extraordinary race with good fortune and bad fortune for many of the front runners, but finally Fernando Alonso had got some good fortune. Kimi Raikkonen's 80-year-old grandmother had come to see her grandson race for Ferrari for the first time. She probably won't be coming back in a hurry.

[SuperCliffy#01]

It is about time Red Bull had a competative car, Mark Webber is a legend.

[Steelers]

I was praying for Alonso to take Massa out towards the end when he passed him. That would have given Mark victory :p Although I thought Mark's luck had caught up with him on the 2nd last corner of the race when he almost let Wurz through :|

Oh and the start of the race was insane, but the most exciting thing to happen all year IMO. The safety car almost got taken out, a crane almost got taken out, a Spyker driver on debut was leading by 30 seconds after 2 laps... crazy!

[SuperCliffy#01]

I love motor sports. Oh Will Powers in Team Australia had rotten luck earlier this morning in his Champ Car in Edmonton Alberta, Canada his steering broke.

[Titanium_BD1103]

Ok apologies I got a bit lazy with this... but yes last night was the Turkish Grand Prix.. :)

It was pretty sub-standard.... Ferrari and McLaren taking on each other at the front, Mark Webber retiring with Hydralics failure on Lap 3... and BMW and Renault scrapping it out in the mid-field.

In the end, well done to Felipe Massa for winning after Lewis Hamilton, who challenged for half the race, blew a tyre and had to limp back to the pits... finishing 5th... it helps Ferrari get a bit closer to McLaren, but TBH, this is really a two horse race between Alonso and Hamilton still... who finally patched things up after the controversy of stalling in pit lane in the qualifying for the previous round... and which had seen them not talking throughout the 3 week summer break.

From: www.speedtv.com


2007 Turkish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 58 Winner 1 10
2 6 Kimi R?ikk?nen Ferrari 58 +2.2 secs 3 8
3 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 58 +26.1 secs 4 6
4 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 58 +39.6 secs 6 5
5 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 +45.0 secs 2 4
6 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 58 +46.1 secs 7 3
7 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +55.7 secs 8 2
8 10 Robert Kubica BMW 58 +56.7 secs 5 1
9 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 58 +59.4 secs 10 -
10 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 58 +71.0 secs 13 -
11 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 58 +79.6 secs 14 -
12 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 57 +1 Lap 16 -
13 7 Jenson Button Honda 57 +1 Lap 21 -
14 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 57 +1 Lap 11 -
15 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 57 +1 Lap 15 -
16 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +1 Lap 9 -
17 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 57 +1 Lap 22 -
18 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 57 +1 Lap 17 -
19 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 57 +1 Lap 18 -
20 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 56 +2 Laps 20 -
21 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 53 +5 Laps 19 -
DNF 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 9 +49 Laps 12 -


2007 Formula One Points Standings
After the Turkish Grand Prix - Sun, 08/26/07

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 84
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 79
3 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 69
4 Kimi R?ikk?nen Finnish Ferrari 68
5 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 47
6 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 29
7 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Renault 19
8 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 17
9 Alexander Wurz Austrian Williams-Toyota 13
10 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 9
11 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull-Renault 8
= David Coulthard British Red Bull-Renault 8
13 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 7
14 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 5
15 Takuma Sato Japanese Super Aguri-Honda 4
16 Jenson Button British Honda 1
= Sebastian Vettel German STR-Ferrari 1
18 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 0
= Scott Speed USA STR-Ferrari 0
= Anthony Davidson British Super Aguri-Honda 0
= Adrian Sutil German Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Christijan Albers Dutch Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian STR-Ferrari 0
= Markus Winkelhock German Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Sakon Yamamoto Japanese Spyker-Ferrari 0

[Steel Dragon]

Notice how there was one retirement in this race - guess who: Webber. Do his teams deliberately sabotage his cars or something?

Jason

[Steelers]

Notice how there was one retirement in this race - guess who: Webber. Do his teams deliberately sabotage his cars or something?

Jason

One of the commentators noted that he is probably the unluckiest driver in modern F1... that just shows how bad he has had it.

[Steel Dragon]

By the way Steelers, -just why do you have a picture of Captain Charger as your avatar?

[Steelers]

By the way Steelers, -just why do you have a picture of Captain Charger as your avatar?

a) He is a legend :p
b) He looks funny
c) I felt like it :)

[HodgoBerro]

He looks funny yeah so does storm man

captn charger looked quite funny after learning he stuffed his genitalia with socks!

[nflin3]

italian Gp starts at 4:25 because of the IRWC :(

[Steel Dragon]

italian Gp starts at 4:25 because of the IRWC :(

What's wrong with that? More sport, less sleep for all. Bring it on I say! I've been getting too much shut-eye since Le Tour de France ended.

Jason

[nflin3]

The Rugby World Cup is here and guess what F1 suffers again. :censored:
By the way good luck to the Wallabies. :rolf:

Sydney

Qualifying - Sunday 4:15 am
Race - Monday 2:00 am

Melbourne

Qualifying - Sunday 4:15 am
Race - Monday 2:00 am

Brisbane

Qualifying - Sunday 4:15 am
Race - Monday 2:00 am

Adelaide

Qualifying - Sunday 4:15 am
Race - Monday 1:30 am

Perth

Qualifying - Sunday 4:15 am
Race - Monday 1:30 am


For those who are watching online

Adelaide time

FRI Practice 1 1800
FRI Practice 2 2200
SAT Practice 1900
SAT Qualifying 2200
SUN Race 2200

[SuperCliffy#01]

And to follow on from the last race, i have one opinion though if Mark Webber was in a Ferrari or a Mc Laren-Mercedes he would be in the top 5 at the mo'.

[Titanium_BD1103]

Source:www.planet-f1.com


GP of Italy - Results
Monza 9th September 2007

Pos Driver Team Time Pts

1 Fernando Alonso McLaren 78:37.806 10
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren +6.00 8
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +27.30 6
4 Nick Heidfeld BMW-Sauber +56.50 5
5 Robert Kubica BMW-Sauber +60.50 4
6 Nico Rosberg Williams +65.80 3
7 Heikki Kovalainen Renault +66.70 2
8 Jenson Button Honda +72.10 1
9 Mark Webber Red Bull +75.80 0
10 Rubens Barrichello Honda +76.90 0
11 Jarno Trulli Toyota +77.70 0
12 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault +1 lap 0
13 Alex Wurz Williams +1 lap 0
14 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri +1 lap 0
15 Ralf Schumacher Toyota +1 lap 0
16 Takuma Sato Super Aguri +1 lap 0
17 Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso +1 lap 0
18 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso +1 lap 0
19 Adrian Sutil Spyker +1 lap 0
20 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker +1 lap 0
Ret Felipe Massa Ferrari Retirement (lap 11) - technical failure 0
Ret David Coulthard Red Bull Retirement (lap 2) - crash 0



2007 Formula One Points Standings
After the Italian Grand Prix - Sun, 09/09/07

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 92
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 89
3 Kimi R?ikk?nen Finnish Ferrari 74
4 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 69
5 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 52
6 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 33
7 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Renault 21
8 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 17
9 Alexander Wurz Austrian Williams-Toyota 13
10 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 12
11 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull-Renault 8
= David Coulthard British Red Bull-Renault 8
13 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 7
14 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 5
15 Takuma Sato Japanese Super Aguri-Honda 4
16 Jenson Button British Honda 2
17 Sebastian Vettel German STR-Ferrari 1
18 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 0
= Scott Speed USA STR-Ferrari 0
= Anthony Davidson British Super Aguri-Honda 0
= Adrian Sutil German Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Christijan Albers Dutch Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian STR-Ferrari 0
= Markus Winkelhock German Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Sakon Yamamoto Japanese Spyker-Ferrari 0


Well this actually was quite a good race... the difference in strategy from two-stop and one-stop teams made it entertaining all the way and there was some aggressive racing from the younger blokes, including Hamilton and Rosberg... with a spectacular pass from Lewis on Kimi with some very late breaking to get 2nd back late in the race.

Webber had a good race too... was on a one stop strategy and was in the points for quite a fair while during this race, but the Red Bull wasn't fast enough and he just missed out. His teammate had the problems though, with a broken wing from clipping a car early on sending Coulthard on a non-stop course with the wall on Lap 2, which he was lucky to get out of, and was equal to the impact Raikonnen had with the wall in practice.

Fernando won overall and as much as it's great for him, I am sure McLaren are worried about the week to come, with their time in the courts fast approaching and police issuing a brief to attend the case to senior officials including Ron Dennis, the main man at McLaren Mercedes.

[nflin3]

And to follow on from the last race, i have one opinion though if Mark Webber was in a Ferrari or a Mc Laren-Mercedes he would be in the top 5 at the mo'.

Any driver in a Mac or ferrari would be in the top 5 easily.

Great to see al the fans in Italy... the view from the podium looking out the crowd was amazing.

If only the Ferrari was a bit quicker Kimi could have seriously challenged for the win.

Great overtaking monouver by Hammo and a great dice from Button to Rosberg.

Better race than previous round.


The best race is coming up next weekend :)

[Steel Dragon]

Any race that McLaren wins is better than any race Ferrari wins. I really, really hope nothing much comes of the court case. I couldn't handle a Ferrari championship by default after sitting through 6 straight years of one-horse races led by the jerk (albeit a talented one) Scumacher.

Jason

[Steelers]

I thnik that Ferrari are going to be handed the championship on a platter... seriously... they have been favoured by the FIA for years now, and I don't see that changing now.

[HodgoBerro]

i just heard on fox sports that mclaren has been fined 119 million and all constructors points for spying on ferrari

[Steelers]

i just heard on fox sports that mclaren has been fined 119 million and all constructors points for spying on ferrari

Ferrari win another undeserved title...

:nope:

[nflin3]

Ferrari win another undeserved title...

:nope:

At least McLaren are racing this weekend and the drivers keep their points

[nflin3]

mcLaren still are at risk of not racing next year.

Maybe they can all go watch this movie:

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u134/Cresen_photos/Film.jpg

[GoldCoastDogFan]

source foxsports.com.au
Stewards probe Hamilton's win
From correspondents in Shanghai
October 04, 2007 FORMULA One stewards have summoned Lewis Hamilton after complaints from Australian Mark Webber over the championship leader's erratic driving behind the safety car in a wet Japanese Grand Prix last weekend.

"New evidence has emerged and the stewards are looking into it," said a spokesman for the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

"We can't pre-empt the stewards' discussion, let alone the decision," he added when asked what sanction the McLaren driver might face.

A decision was expected at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday after another meeting of the stewards.

Red Bull's Webber and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel collided while following Hamilton behind the safety car in that race and complained that his driving was a contributory factor.

Webber and Vettel, who was blamed for the accident and given a 10-place penalty on the grid for this weekend's race, collided at Fuji while in second and third places respectively.

Hamilton's win left the 22-year-old British rookie in a position to clinch the title in China. He leads double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso by 12 points with two races remaining.

Toro Rosso is Red Bull's sister team and both drivers said on Thursday that Hamilton had contributed to the accident by running wide and slowing while the safety car continued on the normal line. Webber told a news conference in Shanghai that he thought Hamilton did a terrible job driving behind the safety car.

"He spoke in the drivers' meeting about how good a job he was going to do and he did the opposite. Still, we know for next time."

Under F1 rules, stewards can review decisions if new evidence emerges.

The sporting regulations also say the race leader must keep a standard distance behind the safety car.

"When I was behind him it felt really inconsistent,'' said Honda's Jenson Button.

"I don't know what he was doing really.

"He came through the last section and he kept slowing down," added Button, who had been fourth at Fuji during an earlier safety car period.

"He knew the safety car wasn't coming in and he kept hitting the brakes hard in the last sector so everyone would bunch up. Then he'd shoot off and brake again,'' added the Briton.

"It was quite strange and it normally only happened in the last sector.''

Vettel said Hamilton's movement had been so extreme that he thought the McLaren driver was retiring from the race.

"I was wondering what happened to him, I already thought he's retiring, there's no more power...by the time I looked back in front of me, I was already in Mark's rear."

Reuters

[Titanium_BD1103]

Well it seems everything is happening in F1 ATM... there has been the Alonso fiasco and where he will be next season, the Toro Rosso Vettel vs Liuzzi race for a 2008 seat and now musical chairs to begin with Ralf Schumacher not at Toyota in 2008... will Rosberg be there and will Ralf get a ride... should be interesting to see... ;)

On the track it's been fast and furious too... both Alonso and Hamilton have stuffed up in the last few races at Japan and China... and the gap has closed... with the race in 2 towards Brazil to surely be a firey one.

Mark Webber has had a decent run in the last few races too, except for the unlucky bungle out from Vettel whilst in the lead... lets hope he has a good end of season and Red Bull can prepare for what will need to be a big year from them in 2008.

From: www.planetf1.com


GP of Japan - Results
Fuji International 30th September 2007

Pos Driver Team Time Pts
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 120:34.579 10
2 Heikki Kovalainen Renault +8.30 8
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +9.40 6
4 David Coulthard Red Bull +20.20 5
5 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault +38.80 4
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari +49.00 3
7 Robert Kubica BMW-Sauber +49.20 2
8 Adrian Sutil Spyker +60.10 1
9 Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso +80.60 0
10 Rubens Barrichello Honda +88.30 0
11 Jenson Button Honda +1 lap 0
12 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker +1 lap 0
13 Jarno Trulli Toyota +1 lap 0
Ret Takuma Sato Super Aguri Retirement (lap 66) - mechanical failure 0
Ret Nick Heidfeld BMW-Sauber Retirement (lap 66) - engine failure. 0
Ret Anthony Davidson Super Aguri Retirement (lap 55) - a spin 0
Ret Ralf Schumacher Toyota Retirement (lap 54) - technical problems. 0
Ret Nico Rosberg Williams Retirement (lap 51) - technical problem 0
Ret Mark Webber Red Bull Retirement (lap 46) - crash with Vettel 0
Ret Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso Retirement (lap 46) - crash with Webber 0
Ret Fernando Alonso McLaren Retirement (lap 42) - a crash 0
Ret Alex Wurz Williams Retirement (lap 20) - crash with Massa 0


GP of China - Results
Shanghai 7th October 2007

Pos Driver Team Time Pts
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 97:58.395 10
2 Fernando Alonso McLaren +9.80 8
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari +12.80 6
4 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso +53.50 5
5 Jenson Button Honda +68.60 4
6 Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso +73.60 3
7 Nick Heidfeld BMW-Sauber +74.20 2
8 David Coulthard Red Bull +80.70 1
9 Heikki Kovalainen Renault +81.10 0
10 Mark Webber Red Bull +84.60 0
11 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault +86.60 0
12 Alex Wurz Williams +1 lap 0
13 Jarno Trulli Toyota +1 lap 0
14 Takuma Sato Super Aguri +1 lap 0
15 Rubens Barrichello Honda +1 lap 0
16 Nico Rosberg Williams +2 lap 0
17 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker +3 lap 0
Ret Robert Kubica BMW-Sauber Retirement (lap 34) - technical failure 0
Ret Lewis Hamilton McLaren Retirement (lap 31) - spin 0
Ret Adrian Sutil Spyker Retirement (lap 28) - crash 0
Ret Ralf Schumacher Toyota Retirement (lap 28) - spin 0
Ret Anthony Davidson Super Aguri Retirement (lap 13) - technical failure 0


2007 Formula One Points Standings
After the Chinese Grand Prix - Sun, 10/07/07

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 107
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 103
3 Kimi R?ikk?nen Finnish Ferrari 100
4 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 86
5 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 58
6 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 35
7 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Renault 30
8 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 21
9 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 15
10 David Coulthard British Red Bull-Renault 14
11 Alexander Wurz Austrian Williams-Toyota 13
12 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull-Renault 10
13 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 7
14 Sebastian Vettel German STR-Ferrari 6
= Jenson Button British Honda 6
16 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 5
17 Takuma Sato Japanese Super Aguri-Honda 4
18 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian STR-Ferrari 3
19 Adrian Sutil German Spyker-Ferrari 1
20 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 0
= Scott Speed USA STR-Ferrari 0
= Anthony Davidson British Super Aguri-Honda 0
= Sakon Yamamoto Japanese Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Christijan Albers Dutch Spyker-Ferrari 0
= Markus Winkelhock German Spyker-Ferrari 0

[nflin3]

Kimi is the champion!!!!